As Port Arrivals Increased Significantly, Iron Ore Inventory at 35 Ports Slightly Accumulated

As of December 13, SMM monitored a total iron ore inventory of 146.66 million mt across 35 ports, up 820,000 mt WoW and up 33.26 million mt YoY. The daily average iron ore port pick-up volume was 3.24 million mt, increasing by 110,000 mt WoW and by 310,000 mt YoY. Recently, there has been a significant increase in port arrivals. On the demand side, as the year-end approaches, some steel mills currently have low inventory levels, creating a need for restocking, which has driven the increase in port cargo pick-up volumes. However, due to the significant increase in arrivals, port inventories still showed a slight upward trend last week. Looking ahead to this week, due to environmental protection-driven production restrictions, some steel mills' blast furnaces may undergo shutdowns for maintenance, which could lead to a decrease in demand for iron ore and a potential accumulation of port inventories.